EXPERIMENTAL AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERIZATION

OF 150mm FIXED- WING MAV AND ANALYSIS OF

STABILITY DERIVATIVES OF THE VEHICLE
A Graduate Project Report submitted to Manipal University in partial
fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
In
Aeronautical Engineering
Submitted by

Tejas Alva (110933070)

Project work carried out at
COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
NATIONAL AEROPACE LABORATORIES, MAV UNIT.

Under the guidance of

Dr. Parag Deshpande
Fellow Scientist,
MART,
National Aerospace Laboratories(NAL),
Bangalore.

Ms.Thara Reshma
Assistant Professor,
Department of
Aeronautical & Automobile Engineering,
Manipal Institute of Technology, MU.

DEPARTMENT OF AERONAUTICAL AND AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING

MANIPAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

(A Constituent College of Manipal University) MANIPAL
576104, KARNATAKA, INDIA
May 2015

DEPARTMENT OF AERONAUTICAL AND AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING

MANIPAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

(A Constituent College of Manipal University)
MANIPAL 576 104 (KARNATAKA), INDIA

Manipal
25TH May, 2015

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project titled EXPERIMENTAL AERODYNAMIC

CHARACTERIZATION OF 150mm FIXED-WING MAV & ANALYSIS OF
STABILITY DERIVATIVES OF THE VEHICLE is a record of the bonafide work
done by TEJAS ALVA (Reg. No.110933070) submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Engineering (BE/BTech) in
AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING of Manipal Institute of Technology Manipal,
Karnataka, (A Constituent College of Manipal University), during the academic year
2014 -15.

Ms.THARA RESHMA

Dr.SATISH SHENOY

Assistant Professor
Department of Aeronautical
& Automobile, Manipal
Institute of Technology, MU

Professor Department of
Aeronautical & Automobile
Manipal Institute of
Technology, MU

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project work wouldnt be possible if not for all the help and guidance I received
from a large number people. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of them for
supporting me and guiding me for the successful completion of this project.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr.Shyam Chetty, DIRECTOR,
CSIR-NAL forgiving me this wonderful opportunity to carry out my project work in this
organization.
I am also grateful to Dr.J.S.Mathur,HEAD-KTMD,CSIR-NAL for his support
and motivation.I am extremely thankful to Mrs. Sasikala GR Murthy,KTMD,CSIR-NAL
for looking after all the formalities, and supporting and approving my request to carry out my
project work in this organization.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my guide, Dr.Parag Deshpande,
Fellow Scientist, MAV at CSIR-NAL,Bangalore for his tremendous encouragement ,valuable
support and guidance throughout the coursework of this project.
I would also like to thank Dr.G.Ramesh, Head MAV Unit, and Mr.Roshan
Anthony,Fellow Scientist,MAV Unit for their able supervision and guidance in helping me
complete this project successfully. I am also grateful to all the members of MAV Unit for
their support and guidance and help in completing this project successfully.
I

also

take

immense

pleasure

to

express

my

thanks

to,

Dr.Satish

Shenoy,HOD,Depatment of Aeronautical and Automobile Engineering , and Ms.Thara

Reshma, Assistant Professor at MANIPAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,MANIPAL, I
am indebted for their continuous support and guidance during the course of the project.
I would like to also express my thanks to Mr.Kamlesh Kumar, Assistant
Professor, Mr.Balbir Singh, Assistant Professor, and Mr.Jayakrishnan, Assistant Professor
at MANIPAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, MANIPAL, for their support and guidance
throughout my engineering course.

ABSTRACT
Micro Air Vehicles (MAV) development is driven by commercial, research,
government and military purposes, with insect-sized aircrafts already under research and
testing. These vehicles can be used to observe hazardous environments inaccessible to ground
vehicles, they are also built for purposes like aerial photography and spying. The small size
of this class of air vehicles poses a variety of design and stability challenges.
Apart from various softwares like XFLR5, AVL and FLUENT, which can be used to
obtain the control derivatives of an aircraft, wind tunnel testing is the only prominent way of
calculating these derivatives experimentally. Hence the data obtained from the wind tunnel
will be used in calculating of the control derivatives of these micro air vehicles. The only
main characteristic of the wind tunnel required for testing of these air vehicles, is an ability to
work at low speeds. Accurate force and torque measuring instruments are required to measure
the minute disturbances on the vehicle due to the air flow.
Our main objective is to understand the effects of incorporating a rotating cylinder in
the upper surface of MH45 airfoil and to study its behaviour in comparison with a standard
MH45 airfoil with the help of Pitot static tube, Pressure taps and Flow Visualization
technique.

LIST OF TABLES
Table No
3.1
3.2
5.1

Table Title
MART characteristics
Sensing Ranges of ATI Mini-40
Static Stability Derivative Table

Page No
9
13
61

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
3.14
3.15
4.1
4.2
4.3

Figure Title
Axis System of an Aircraft
MAV Aerodynamics Research Tunnel (MART)
CAD Model Orthogonal View
Front view of the Model
Top view of the Model
Side view of the Model
ATI Mini-40
Pitot-static probe
Control surface deflection templates
Arduino UNO
Lab View interface for changing PWM rating
Test Ready Model
Support with drilled holes for providing side slip angle
Experimental Setup
Data Acquisition interface with ATI Software and Lab View
Effect of downward control surface deflection
Effect of upward control surface deflection
Side View of the test model

Page No
7
8
11
11
12
12
13
14
15
16
16
17
18
19
20
29
29
31

Contents
Page No
Acknowledgement
Abstract
List Of Figures
List Of Tables
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Objectives

1
3

Chapter 2
BACKGROUND THEORY
2.1 Literature Review

4
4

Chapter 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Components and Instruments
3.2 Calibration
3.3 Experimental Setup
3.4 Data Acquisition

7
7
15
18
19

Chapter 4
RESULT ANALYSIS
4.1 Basic aerodynamic characteristics of 150 mm MAV
4.2 Effect of Side Slip on the Aerodynamics of MAV
4.3 Effect of Control Surface Deflection on the Aerodynamics of MAV
4.4 Static Stability Derivatives
4.5 Study of Effects of Dynamic Deflection of Control Surfaces

21
23
25
29
32
56

Chapter 5

61

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE

REFERENCES
PROJECT DETAILS
DECLARATION

63
65
66

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
An UAV or Unmanned Air Vehicle is type of an air vehicle, which has no crew or
passenger onboard.The very first UAV in history was recorded during a war in 1849, and was
used by the Austrians to attack Italy. They were merely a set of balloons loaded with
explosives. Although a few worked balloons worked in the favour of Austrians, the others
blew back into the Austrian lines due to change of wind. Since then, the development of
UAVs has come a long way, and its ability to work in hostile conditions have been a constant
motivation for man to learn more about these smaller sized aircrafts and also to expertise in
this field of aviation.
A Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), is a miniature UAV with size restrictions. The smallest
air vehicle in this category can be as small as 15 cm in length. MAVs like other bigger sized
UAVs, can be autonomous in control or can be remotely piloted by men on the ground. Due
to its small size and low operating speeds, its operational Reynoldss Number range is quite
less, approximately 1, 50,000 or lower.
Wind tunnel testing has an important role to play in the development of missioncapable MAVs with high endurance. The fact that these micro air vehicles operate at very low
Reynolds number flows is a challenge to the designers of these vehicles. As mentioned
earlier, this class of air vehicles are used for a variety of purposes by a variety of sectors. It is
used from spying to recreational purposes, and hence has to be designed for different
operating conditions.
Airfoil characteristics can be calculated computationally using software's like XFLR5,AVL
and FLUENT. As of now the only way it can be calculated experimentally is by wind tunnel
testing. Wind tunnel testing gives accurate enough results and hence is more reliable than the
computational methods. This is because in a few scenarios the exact operating environment
cant be created in these software and can be very well created by the flow field in the wind
tunnel.

Magnus effect is a well known phenomenon that is associated with rotating cylinders or
rotating spheres. When a cylinder is at right angles to the oncoming stream rotates at high
speeds, it drags the fluid that is on or next to the surface with it due to Coanda Effect. Because
this layer of entrained air more faster than it normally would be. This results in a force on
cylinder normal to direction of fluid motion.

Fig

Fig

The experiment which was conducted by me under the guidance of the several senior
scientists at MAV Unit in NAL Bangalore, was essentially to obtain a set of important control
derivatives of a 150mm MAV in the MART facility present in the NAL MAV Unit. The
previous attempts by researchers around the world, to obtain these control derivatives through
a wind tunnel analysis have ended up being either complex, expensive or time consuming.
The successful completion of this experiment would lead to a much simpler method of
9

obtaining derivatives through wind tunnel analysis, which will not only fasten the design
process of MAVs but also be a reliable way to understand the stability of the designed air
vehicle.

Control derivatives also gives an idea of how an aircraft behaves for a particular
change in control surface deflection. It gives an idea of how different types of forces and
moments vary due to the orientation of the aircraft or in simple words, the state of the
aircraft. Hence, any change in the stability characteristics of the aircraft can be changed only
by changing a certain aspects of the design. Therefore, obtaining accurate control derivatives
of the aircraft initially during the design phase is very import

10

1.1) OBJECTIVES
To standardize the method of stability testing of MAVs and obtaining control derivatives via
wind tunnel analysis.
To obtain basic aerodynamic characteristics of the 150mm MAV.
To understand the aerodynamic effects of sideslip experimentally.
To understand effects of combinations of sideslip, angle of attack and control surface
deflection in low Reynolds number flows over MAVs.

To understand the variation of basic aerodynamic forces with time, by dynamically

deflecting control surfaces at different rates in the wind tunnel. This probably the first time
a study of this sort is done.
The results obtained on successful completion of these objectives will help in
making the design and testing of MAVs easier and faster. It would also make it easier to
understand the stability of the air vehicle. It will also help in understanding aerodynamic
effects on MAVs in different orientations in different operating conditions. Most
importantly it gives the controller of the air vehicle an exact idea of how the vehicle will
behave when he changes the control surface deflection. To be precise, he would know by
how much the air vehicle would pitch up, when the control surfaces are deflected
symmetrically and by how much it would roll and yaw when the control surfaces would be
deflected asymmetrically.

CHAPTER 2
BACKGROUND THEORY

The origin of Micro Air Vehicles has excited the aeronautical and aerospace
community since it was first invented. Engineers have been talking about MAVs or Nano Air
Vehicles for decades, but recent improvements in batteries and other key electronic
components mean that the technology is now becoming more practical and affordable.
Operating in real-world conditions for an aircraft that weighs little more than AA battery is no
mean feat. Not only are the challenges of environmental conditions such as wind and dust
magnified, but the aerodynamic challenges are quite different.

Simulations of the flight dynamics are perhaps the most useful tools for pre-flight
mission planning. These simulations estimate the responses to commanded manoeuvres and
allow the resulting flight paths to be rigorously evaluated. Such a tool is thus invaluable for
mission preparation; however, the value is tightly correlated to the fidelity of the models
which represent the flight dynamics.

Several techniques are commonly used to generate models of flight dynamics for
aircraft. Analytical estimates are highly reliable because of advances in computational
modelling of fluid dynamics. Experimental estimates are also highly reliable because data
obtained from scaled models can be safely extracted to describe the corresponding properties
of full-size vehicles. Both types of estimates are often compared and correlated to determine
a single high fidelity model for aircraft.

2.1) Literature Review

Several papers and thesis on stability, aerodynamics and wind tunnel testing of
MAVs were referred to, during the literature survey. This helped us gain an insight into the
behavioural responses of MAVs of different sizes and types, ranging from flying wing to the
conventional

body-wing configuration. It also helped us understand a few other techniques by which

stability of MAVs have been studied.

In one of the experiments conducted in UIUC[2] in the year 2012, they used a
tracking system to calculate the lift and drag of the MAV. The experimental setup included a
tracking system which used 16 cameras with its on infra-red rays to track the motion of the air
vehicle. The motion of the vehicle could be because of the reflective markers attached on it,so
the cameras tracked the motion of the flight and the researchers studied each frame to
calculate how the air vehicle behaved and obtained its lift and drag in real time. The
experiment was successful but it would be too expensive to carry out one of this kind
elsewhere.

Scientists have also come with a few innovative ideas to test the MAVs in wind
tunnel. One such idea I came across on the internet during my literature survey was, to use a
cable mechanism to study the forces acting on the air vehicle in the wind tunnel. The set up
included a set of cables attached to force sensors on one end and with hooks onto the model at
the other end. The cables were stiff enough to hold the model freely in air. As the wind tunnel
was made operational, the air vehicles response caused the cables to tighten or slack. The
tension in the wires were read by the force sensors and hence the forces acting on the aircraft
were calculated.

Apart from these a few papers suggested using complex mathematical methods and
codes to calculate the stability coefficients from the obtained wind tunnel data. One such work
was described in a paper on the experiment conducted in Royal Melbourne Institute of
Technology[1], where they tested an MAV in the wind tunnel under turbulent conditions. They
studied the effect of sweep and dihedral on the stability coefficients in a way similar to which
we have obtained the control derivatives. But, have used complex mathematical regression
methods to study and compute the dynamic coefficient of the MAV.

Studies have been conducted on 2-D characteristics of a wing for a low Reynolds
number flows.

These studies arrived at the following conclusions:

1) Streamlined aerofoils intended for use at high Reynoldss numbers, which have large
thicknesses and leading edge radii; exhibit poor performance due to laminar
separation in flows at low Reynoldss numbers, such as those for insect flights.

2) Aerofoils designed for low Reynoldss number are thin with sharp leading edges, and
they sometimes have corrugated profiles like those of insect wings.

3) Lift curves at low Reynolds numbers are clearly non-linear, whereas those at high
Reynolds numbers are linear.

4) Different aerofoils have different magnitude of moment, which is mainly due to the
shape of its camber. Hence for a symmetric aerofoil, the inherent moment is zero.

5)

The magnitude of this moment, also depends on the thickness of the aerofoil along its
camber and the mass distribution along the chord.As the position of maximum camber
thickness moves backwards along the chord, the moment decreases or becomes more
positive.

Due to advances in energy, actuator, and sensor technologies, it is possible to build

small scale flying devices with mean wing chords of 5 cm flying at about 10 m/s. Cameras
and chemical sensors have decreased dramatically in size and weight due to advances in
electronics. Aircraft at this size and speed could have many uses in military reconnaissance,
traffic monitoring, search and rescue, and forest fire detection.

To improve the endurance, range, efficiency and payload capacity of these vehicles,
one could look to lighter materials, higher energy density power systems, high efficiency
power systems, or the aerodynamics of the vehicle.

CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

An aircraft body is usually described by using its body axes .The X-axis or the
longitudinal axis passes along the fuselage length and a torque about this causes the plane to
roll about it. The Y-axis or the lateral axis passes along the wings and rotational moment
about it causes the plane to pitch up or pitch down. The Z-axis or the vertical axis passes
through the centre of the plane and the moment about it causes the plane to yaw. In the wind
tunnel, the initial set up is such that the X-axis of the aircraft is along the flow of the air in the
tunnel. The base of the aircraft is parallel to the tunnel floor.

Figure 3.1: Axis System of an Aircraft

3.1)Components and Instruments:
a)Wind Tunnel:
The wind tunnel used for the experiment was the Micro Air Vehicle Aerodynamics
Research Tunnel (MART) at the MAV unit in CSIR-NAL in Bangalore. This tunnel was

established to meet all the requirements of MAV studies. It is a low speed, suction type, open
circuit wind tunnel. It is capable of having a low turbulence closed test section and also
capable of having an open test section with a large Betz chamber. The open test section in a
Betz chamber is usually used to study flapping and rotatory wing vehicles because the
chamber maintains a static pressure and avoids the complication of reflections off the wind
tunnel walls. This facility also boasts of being one of the only wind tunnels in the country to
have an active gust mechanism feature, it can produce sinusoidal gusts of the required
amplitude and frequency and also step input gusts which helps in simulating turbulent
conditions in which the MAVs may have to operate in. Hence various other research
organizations, academic institutions, industries to carry out re-search and development in
MAVs at this facility.

Figure 3.2: MAV Aerodynamics Research Tunnel(MART)

The MART has a closed test section of, 0.8 m 1.2 m2.5 m in dimension with a
Reynolds number range of upto 6,00,000 over an aerofoil chord of 200 mm. A maximum
velocity of 45m/s can be achieved. The model of 200 mm span can be given a pitch of -20 to
40, yaw of -15 to 15 and roll of -180 to 180.The entry section is Bell shaped. With a
Honeycomb and two screens with squares of high aspect ratio, to make the flow laminar. It

has a contraction ratio of 9:1. With a diffuser of 6 m in length and circular in shape. The
overall

length of the tunnel is about 17 m. The suction of air is done by the 12 bladed, belt driven fan.
The motor drives the fan and can operate at upto 1450 RPM.

Type

Open circuit, Suction

Contraction Ratio

9:1

Test Section

0.8 m 1.2 m2.5 m

Diffuser

6m long, Circular Shape

Entry Section

Bell Shape, Fineness Ratio 8

Honeycomb & Screen

Square cells with high aspect ratio, 3nos.

Overall Length

17 m

Fan & Motor

12 bladed Belt Driven,45 Kw,1450 RPM

Velocity Range

1 m/s to 45 m/s
Table 3.1: MART Characteristics

The MART has space and ability to use different type of mount mechanisms. We
chose the Sector mechanism. In this mechanism the angle of the model is changed by moving
the metallic, gear toothed sector manually. The sector is attached to a Sting mount in the wind
tunnel which holds the model. The sting mount was used as it has less interference with the
model flow field. This was particularly used because we were using an internal balance. The
sector mechanism could also be used for creating yaw in the model using a yaw motor which
could laterally move the sector.

b)Test Model:
The MAVs in NAL are 3D printed using a Rapid ProtoTyping (RPT) Machine.
The Machine has to be just fed with the CAD model before it starts printing. The machine
builds the body, layer by layer, with a very high dimensional accuracy. In the process it also
produces a supporting structure, in the hollow parts of the model. The whole process takes a
few hours depending on the size of the model. Once the Model is out, it is immersed in a
certain solution to dissolve the supporting material only.

Since the body thickness of the MAV was a bit less, we decided to reinforce
the model using a balsa wood. We stuck this balsa wood piece inside the model and fixed the
adapter of the support by drilling a small hole at the bottom of the model, through the balsa
reinforcement.

Properties:
Weight: 142 g

Servo:

Length: 210.74 mm

Weight: 5.6 g

Span: 150 mm

Torque @ 4.8V: 0.8 Kg-cm

@ 6V : 1.1 Kg-cm

Centre of Gravity:
X= 58.78 mm
Y= 0.90 mm
Z= -0.31 mm

Moment of Inertia:
IXX=129653.06 g-mm2
IYY=779454.73 g-mm2
IZZ=668044.13 g-mm2

Speed @ 4.8V: 0.12s/60deg

@6V : 0.11s/60deg
Airfoil: N-22

Figure 3.3: CAD Model Orthogonal View

Figure 3.4: Front View of the Model

Figure 3.5: Top View of the Model

Figure 3.6: Side View of the Model

c)Force/Torque Sensor- ATI Mini-40:

The ATI Mini-40 was the force torque sensor that was used in this experiment.
It is a multi-axis force torque sensor, which can measure all six components of force and
torque. It contains a transducer which uses silicon strain gages to measure forces. The silicon
strain gages allow high overload protection. The advantages of this sensor is that we can
translate or rotate the force-torque reference frame. We also have the option of biasing the
sensor, and

hence making it convenient to offset the tool weight. It also has a high signal to noise ratio, it
provides a signal 75 times stronger than the conventional foil gages.

Figure 3.7: ATI Mini-40

The following calibration mode of ATI Mini-40 was used for this experiment.

Calibration
SI-40-2

Fx,Fy
40 N

Fz
Tx,Ty
120 N 2 Nm

Tz
2 Nm

Table 3.2: Sensing Range of ATI Mini-40

d)Pitot-static probe and Manometer:

The pitot static probe was used to measure the stagnation pressure. The pitot static
tube isnt placed closed to the wall of the wind tunnel as a precautionary measure so that the
boundary layer effects dont effect the readings. The pitot static probe was connected to a
digital manometer which displayed the pressure in terms of mm of Water. The velocity from
this reading is calculated using the formula below. Since the manometer displays the dynamic

pressure, which is stagnation pressure minus the static pressure, it is equated to the pressure on
the fluid in the manometer.

gh=
2

2
2

2 2

Figure 3.8: Pitot Static Probe

3.2)Calibration:
The next most important task was to calibrate the servos and control surface
deflection, for which an in house Lab View program was already written by the scientists at
NAL.The next step was to get cut outs with different control surface deflection angles. For
this, we went back to CAD and obtained the side profile model and extracted its shapes for
different control surface deflections like 15,10 and 0 as shown in the Figure() on a card
board using a Laser Cutting machine. The machine uses the heat of the laser to cut the card
board or any other material with pin point accuracy and high speed. Now the servos of in the
model were connected to an Arduino UNO was used which has 14 digital Input/output
pins(I/O) out of which 6 can give a PWM output. The control wire of the servo is fed with and
electric pulse which determines the position of the control surface.

Figure 3.9: Control Surface Deflection Templates

Now, the cardboard cut outs for each control surface deflection angle is placed on
the model and the PWM rating is varied using the Lab View program, till the shape of the

MAV matches the cut out. This way, The PWM rating for each angle is noted. This is how we
calibrated our model.

Figure 3.10: Arduino UNO

Then the model is fixed with the servos and batteries. A motor mount is also fixed at the nose
of the MAV for the propeller. Since we didnt require a propeller for our experiment, no
propeller or motor was attached to the nose of the model. Though, the servos were attached to
the control surface through mechanical or control links and checked if they were actuating,

Figure 3.11: Lab View Interface used for changing PWM rating

One main problem we came across was the fact that we didnt have a yaw motor
to give a sideslip angle to the MAV due to some technical glitch the motor had and studying
the effect of sideslip was crucial for understanding the stability characteristics of the air
vehicle. As mentioned before, the support is attached to the model via a small T-shaped
adapter. The support has a circular base, which is to sit on the Force-Torque sensor and has
groves on it using which it can be fixed to the sensor or balance.

Figure 3.12: Test Ready Model

The solution we came up was quite simple and unique, we decided to drill holes
around the already present 3 provisioned holes on the circular base of the support, at the side
slip angles we required. We decided that we needed to conduct the experiment in atleast 5
different sideslip angle, so we designed the holes of +10 and -10, one on each side of the
already drilled holes, and then designed holes for +20 and -20 the same way, but due to
overlapping of the holes we drilled it on the other side of the circular base support. Along with
each hole we needed to get 2 additional holes drilled at 120 on each side, to match it with the
holes on the sensor. So in total we drilled about 12 extra holes and the end product looked like
as shown in the Figure(13).This solution to not having a yaw motor is what makes this project

unique. With this, these kind of stability studies can be done in almost any wind tunnel. This
also makes the process of calculating the derivatives quite simple too.

Figure 3.13: Support with drilled holes for providing Side-Slip Angle

3.3)Experimental Setup:
The experimental setup included the wind tunnel, FT sensor (ATI Mini-40), 150
mm MAV model, Arduino UNO, DC Power regulator, Manometers and a few Computers.
The Model was first fixed to the support using a T-shaped adapter as mentioned earlier. The
support with circular base was then placed over the ATI Mini-40 and affixed firmly over it
using 3 screws through the holes present on it. The ATI Mini-40 was placed in a small socket
which restricted its movement just so that the sensor doesnt get displaced when the tunnel is
ON. This socket and was at the end of a rod fixed to the sting mount attached to the sector
mechanism. The servos were connected to an arduino UNO through a long wire. The arduino
was supplied via a computer near the tunnel. The voltage was regulated by the DC Power
regulator, which had an external power supply. The ATI Mini-40 was connected to the
computer via an DAQ box, which converted the force sensor signals into Forces along three
axes, Fx, Fy and Fz and Torque about these three axes, Tx, Ty and Tz. The ATI software

installed in the computer displays these Forces and Torques in the desired units. The wind
tunnel motor was run by the computers present in the control room.

Figure 3.14: Experimental Setup

3.4)Data Acquisition:
Data was acquired for every orientation of the air vehicle, including each and every
control deflection required to complete the stability study as desired. Data was collected at the
rate of 1000 samples per second, and was collected for a period of 10 seconds each. A total of
10,000 samples for each orientation. After changing the angle of attack, the sensor was
unbiased and biased which is done to offset the force acting on the body due to change in the
orientation. The collection of data using the ATI software is fairly simple. The acquirer
should just change the name of the excel file as he requires and the software creates that excel
file with that name and stores the values of forces and torques in six different columns for
each sample reading. This makes the calculation of aerodynamic forces and moments about
each axis, quite simple. Averaged values of these samples are used for the calculation of these
forces and moments as they give a good approximation.

Figure 3.15: Data Acquisition Interface With ATI software and LAB View

An aircraft is said to be statically stable if, the aerodynamic forces and moments
acting on the airframe after it is disturbed from its equilibrium position, acts in a manner to
restore it back to its equilibrium position. The idea was to test the aircraft at different angles
of attack ranging from 0 to 28 with a change of 4 each time, and simultaneously at
different side slip angles -20,-10,0,+10, and +20.And at each of this orientation data was
acquired for different control surface deflections, both symmetric and asymmetric deflections.
The deflections were 15 in magnitude. The alternate and symmetric deflections were both
tested because the model is a flying wing model, and as we know for flying wing models
there are no separate ailerons, the elevators themselves when deflected in alternate directions
act as ailerons and produce a rolling moment in the aircraft.

For the dynamic control surface deflection simulation, the Avionics department
of MAV Unit programmed an Arduino UNO, using which the control surfaces were deflected
dynamically at different rates, both symmetrically and asymmetrical. The Forces and torques
acting on the MAV during this dynamic testing was acquired and studied.

20

CHAPTER 4
RESULT ANALYSIS

The Aerodynamic forces and moments are calculated by the averaged values of the
forces and torques, from the acquired data. A MATLAB code was written using the
transformation matrix given below, it directly took Fx,Fy and Fz value from the selected excel
sheet. The Bank Angle, = 0, and the AOA, and Side-Slip Angle, are input
accordingly.

[ ] = [ +
] . [ ]

The moments and other coefficients are calculated as follows,

= + ( .
)

= + ( . ) ( . )

= + ( . )

Where 10.5 cm is the length of the support and 1.2 cm is the distance between the support and
the centre of gravity. The aerodynamic coefficients were calculated using the formulae give
below,

Coefficient of Lift,
(.
. )
= .

Coefficient

of Drag,
(.
=

. )
.

Coefficient of Pitching Moment,

(.
=

. )
.

Coefficient of Side Force,

(. .
=

)
.

Coefficient of Rolling Moment,

=

( . . )
.

Coefficient of Yaw Moment,

( . . )


= .

4.1)Basic Aerodynamic Characteristics

of the 150mm MAV:

The graphs shown in the above figure are plotted from the data obtained at 0
sideslip angle and no control surface deflection.

The CL- graph, is linear as expected but there is a loss in linearity at 24 AOA, at
which for two other sideslip angle, the model stalls.

The Cd- graph, shows behaviour as expected, even theoretically it is known that the
drag on the model increases with the increase in AOA, as more surface area of the
model is exposed to the airflow.

The Cm- graph, also shows that the aircraft is stable and has a negative pitching
moment and the pitching moment becomes more negative as we increase the AOA.
This makes it clear that as we increase the AOA, the nose down pitching moment

increases and that the model tries to get back to its equilibrium position if it ever gets
perturbed longitudinally.

The L/D graph is one of the most basic and important aerodynamic characteristic, to
be known about any flying body. The higher the value of this ratio, the more effective
is the design. The (L/D)

max

for this aircraft at 15 m/s is 2.68 and is attained at 16

AOA.

The 0 ,that is the zero angle of attack Lift Coefficient is -0.11,

correspondingly,0

has a value of 0.091 and 0 is 0.096.4.2)Effect of

Sideslip on the Aerodynamics of MAV:

Side slip angle relates to the rotation of the aircraft centreline from the relative wind.
Usually the side slip angle, , is assigned a positive sign when the relative wind is coming
of the right of the nose of the aircraft. This is the same convention that was followed
throughout this experiment.

The CL varies linearly with AOA irrespective of the side slip angle. The CL is not
known to vary with the side slip angle even theoretically. If we carefully observe the
transformation matrix using which the Lift can be calculated, we see that the Lift only
depends on the AOA and bank angle, and is independent of the side slip angle.

Effect of Side-Slip Angle on Drag:

The Coefficient of Drag increases both with the increase in AOA and sideslip angle.
But the trend of variation is similar because, from the transformation matrix,
If side slip angle and bank angle are 0,
= cos +

sin
And if AOA and bank angle is 0, we get,
= cos +

sin
So the value of drag, changes with the magnitude of the AOA and side slip angle along
with Fx and Fz but the trend would be similar.

At 0 AOA, the drag increases with side slip angle because, the vertical tail becomes
more normal to the flow, as well as the body becomes wider from the flows
perspective, as we increase the side slip angle.

Effect of Side-Slip angle on the Yaw Moment:

The term Cn, represents the Coefficient of Yawing Moment, and is positive to the
right and negative to the left. The graph shows that with the increase in the side slip
angle, the magnitude of the moment increases and as for a stable aircraft, is in the
direction towards nullifying the sideslip angle. That is , the moment is restoring in
nature, which is a sign of a stable aircraft

As seen in the graph, the Coefficient of Yaw Moment suddenly tends to zero after 24
AOA , which is also the stall angle, this shows that the yaw moment ceases to exist as
we continue to increase the AOA. This is due to the flow separation, which increases
as the AOA increases. This explained in detail in the further part of the report.

Effect of SideSlip Angle on Rolling Moment:

The Cl,term represents the Moment of Rolling Moment , it is positive to the right and
negative to the left.

At a particular side slip angle, the vertical stabilizer or tail is at a certain angle to the
relative flow of air, and when the flow hits the vertical tail at this angle, an
aerodynamic moment is produced along the aircrafts roll axis.

Hence as seen in the graph, the rolling moment has a similar magnitude for symmetric
sideslip angles but a different sign, which depends on which side of the vertical tail the
flow hits.

The magnitude of the rolling moment increases as you increase your side slip angle(in
magnitude), as more surface of the vertical tail gets exposed to the flow, in other
words, the flow hits the vertical tail at an higher angle, creating more torque.

4.3)Effect of Control Surface Deflection on the Aerodynamics of MAV:

Since this is a flying wing MAV, the control surfaces when deflected symmetrically
act as elevators and when deflected asymmetrically act as ailerons.

When the control surfaces are deflected downwards, the lift and drag increases but the
moment decreases.

The lift increases and moment decreases as the wing becomes more positively
cambered. And the drag increases, as the induced drag increases.

Figure 4.1: Effect of downward control surface deflection

When the control surfaces are deflected upwards, the lift and drag reduces but the
moment increases.

The lift decreases and moment increases due to change in aerofoil shape, as its camber
reduces. The drag reduces as the induced drag due to lift decreases.

Figure 4.2: Effect of upward control surface deflection

The Downward deflection was considered POSITIVE and Upward deflection was
taken to be NEGATIVE in this Experiment

As the control surfaces are deflected symmetrically, when they are deflected down the
the camber becomes more positive and hence the lift increases and the vice-versa
occurs when the control surfaces are deflected upwards.

The same coefficient of lift can be maintained even after changing the control surface
deflection by just providing a change in angle of attack.

Figure 4.3: Side view of the test model

We can see from the Coefficient of Drag and Angle of Attack graph, that the value of
coefficient of drag at 0AOA, is slightly higher when the control surface id deflected
upwards as compared to zero deflection and downward deflection, this is due to the
surface area of the control surface when deflected upwards is slightly more than when
it is deflected downwards.

As the AOA increases, this slight increase in the surface area is dominated by

the fact that the surface area exposed to the flow is more when the control surfaces are
deflected downwards and less when the control surfaces are deflected upwards.

The Coefficient of Moment-Angle of Attack graph, shows that irrespective of the

control surface deflection, the magnitude of coefficient of moment decreases as the
AOA is increased. This is a sign of a longitudinally stable aircraft.

As the control surface is deflected down, the camber becomes more positive, hence
creating a more negative pitching moment. The deflection of the control surface
upwards, decreases the camber, and produces a more positive coefficient of moment in
terms of magnitude.

4.4)Static Stability Derivatives:

Longitudinal Static Stability Derivatives

1) Coefficient of Lift with respect to AOA (

)

The coefficient of lift varies linearly with the AOA. The slope of the C L- curve for

different sideslip angles were calculated and the average of these slopes were calculated.

The experimental value of was computed to be 2.197/rad.

It signifies that for every radian increase in AOA, the CL increases by 2.197.

, at particular angle of attack reaches 0, this is the point at which the C value is

maximum. Also known as stall angle.

The MAV used for this experiment has a stall angle of 24 as mentioned earlier.

The C is independent of the side slip angle as seen before and hence the value of
L

remains same for any side slip angle.

The importance of this fact is that the pilot can yaw to any degree without worrying
much about a change in altitude.

The value of Lift and CL does depend on the AOA and bank angle though.

2)
Coefficient of Drag with respect to AOA():
The value of is always positive as the drag force increases with AOA. The

increase in drag is due to an increase in the surface area of the model being exposed
directly to the airflow.

The experimental value of obtained was 0.6864/rad.

This shows that the drag on the body increases as expected, with an increase in the
AOA.

From the obtained value we can infer that the coefficient of drag increases by 0.6864
for ever radian increase in AOA.

The CD does vary with sideslip angle, and depends on the magnitude of the sideslip
angle but follows the same trend as

as mentioned earlier.

As we can see in the graph, at higher AOA, the MAV has a higher CD at zero side-slip
angle. This is because as the side-slip angle increases the amount of area normally
exposed to, decreases as compared to the area exposed at zero side-slip angle.

36

3) Coefficient of Moment with respect to AOA()

The primary requirement for longitudinal static stability is for to be negative.

This means that there is an aerodynamic restoring moment for AOA perturbations to
steady state flight.

The value of was computed to be -0.4480/rad.

It signifies that for every increase in AOA by a radian, the Cm becomes more negative
by a magnitude of 0.4480.This implies that a certain nose down pitching moment acts
on the model, and that the magnitude of this pitching down moment increases with the
increase in angle of attack.

During a longitudinal perturbation, the AOA increases and so does the magnitude of
the lift force. And since this lift force acts at the aerodynamic centre located behind
the centre of gravity about which this moment acts upon, a negative pitching moment
results in response to the perturbation.

37

The aircraft designer can make this derivative negative by placing the centre of gravity
in front of the aerodynamic centre. He can make this derivative more negative in
magnitude by increasing the distance between the centre of gravity and the
aerodynamic centre. This distance is known as the Static Margin.

This shows that the MAV tested, has longitudinal static stability.

eral-Directional Static Stability derivatives:

Lat

1) Coefficient of Side Force with respect to Side Slip Angle():

This derivative gives us an idea about the change in coefficient of side force because

of a change in side slip angle. The vertical tail is a primary aircraft component that
influences this derivative.

The value of this derivative was obtained by averaging the values for different
AOA.

The value of obtained by this experiment was -0.4880/ rad.

The value of this derivative is usually negative, because positive sideslip will result in
a side force along negative Y-axis and vice-versa.

The vertical tail basically acts like a wing and the side slip angle would be like a
corresponding AOA.

The magnitude of this derivative can be increased by increasing the surface area of the
vertical tail, as , this will produce a greater force because the pressure acting on it
would have increased

Hence we can infer from the obtained value that the side force produced due to the

side slip angle will be a restoring force and hence will try to move the nose of the MAV
towards the relative wind and to nullify the side slip angle.

2) Coefficient of Rolling Moment with respect to Side Slip Angle()

The derivative , is the roll static stability derivative. Four design aspects influences

this derivative: The geometric dihedral, wing position, wing sweep and the vertical tail.
Since the MAV under consideration was a flying wing model, the effect of wing position
was ignored and the MAV didnt possess a geometric dihedral.

The sign of must be negative, if the model is to have roll static stability.

The value of obtained by experimentation was -0.5965/rad.

A negative value just implies that the aircraft produces a rolling moment away from

The wing sweep influences this derivative strongly. Let us consider an aft sweep wing

the direction of the side slip.

aircraft moving and having a positive side slip angle. The wing of the aircraft which is
in the same side as the relative wind, experiences a stronger normal component of

velocity. Due to this it produces a larger lift the opposite wing, thereby creating a
rolling

moment away from the side slip. Therefore an aft swept wing always has a negative

contribution to and a forward swept wing has a positive contribution to .

Hence the designers can opt for increasing the aft sweep of the wings to give the MAV
more roll static stability

Another design feature that influences , is the vertical tail of the aircraft.

The positive side slip angle creates and aerodynamic force on the vertical tail along the
negative Y-axis, and now since the aerodynamic centre of the vertical tail is above the
aircrafts X-axis, a negative rolling moment is produced which makes the derivative

negative.

The designer can make the derivative more negative in magnitude by increasing the
height and area of the vertical tail, as it creates more torque.

The derivative also increases in magnitude as the side slip angle increases.

3)
Coefficient of Yaw Moment with respect to Side Slip Angle():
is the yaw static stability derivative. It is also known as the weather cock stability

derivative. This derivative has to be positive for the aircraft to be directionally stable.

The value of the derivative for the MAV was experimentally obtained to be
0.2678/rad.

From the positive we have obtained, we can infer that the MAV will generate a

positive yawing moment when at a positive side slip angle, that is, the MAV will tend
to yaw toward the relative wind and reduce the side slip angle and the vice versa
applies for the MAV at a negative side slip angle. This is the reason why it is known
as a weather-cock derivative.

The two main factors that affect this derivatives are the design of the vertical tail and
wing sweep.

The can be made more positive by making having a larger vertical tail or by

increasing the distance between the cg of the MAV and the aerodynamic centre of the
vertical tail. This increases the magnitude of torque about the Z-axis or centre of
gravity.

The aft swept wing of the MAV also makes a positive contribution to . As explained

earlier, the wing toward the side slip, experiences more lift and hence more induced
drag than the wing on the opposite side of the side slip angle. This makes the
downstream wing to move faster, creating a yaw towards the relative wind.

Maintaining a good positive value of at higher AOA can be a challenge because at

higher AOA, due to flow separation it would be difficult to maintain high dynamic
pressure over the vertical tail. Hence causing the value of to decrease drastically at

higher angle of attacks.

Even in our experimental results, the at 0 AOA was noted to be 0.3323/rad and

the value dropped continuously to 0.0744/rad at 28 AOA. The above stated

phenomenon is the most probable reason for the value of to drop.

The solution to this problem is either to have a really large vertical tail or use a V-tail
configuration with each vertical wing placed out board. The reason being that this
configuration will keep the tails out of the separated flows over the body of the MAV
and allow it to maintain the directional stability at higher AOA.

Hence a V-tail configuration can be tested on an MAV to increase its static directional
stability.

Der

ivatives with respect control surface deflections:

Primary Control Derivatives:

,
and
are called Primary Control Derivatives, because they define

the change in moment about an axis due to change in primary control surface deflection for
that axis. For example,

, defines the rolling moment caused by a change in aileron

deflection. Aileron being the primary control surface for the roll axis, the derivative defines the
amount by which the rolling moment is directly affected by its deflection. Similarly,

defines the amount by which the pitching moment is affected by the deflection of elevators,
which is the primary control surface for the pitch axis. The derivative

is not computed as

there is no rudder in this MAV. The deflection for the aileron derivatives on depicted on the
X-axis of the graphs are for the left aileron.

1) Coefficient of Rolling Moment with respect to Aileron deflection ( ):

Ailerons are the primary control surfaces responsible for producing rolling
moment. A positive rolling moment can be achieved by a positive aileron deflection. A
positive rolling moment would be rolling to the right according to the usual convention.

 The value we experimentally obtained for the MAV was 0.0099/rad.

The value of this derivative was certainly expected to be higher than the value obtained
as this is a control power derivative and hence the moment about the axis is
completely dependent on the deflection of the control surface.
There are a few reasons why the value of is quite less than expected. They are:

a) The distance between the left and the right control surface is less as it is a flying
wing model and its distance to the centre of gravity is also quite less. This could
drastically reduce the amount of torque acting at the centre of gravity hence
leading us to a lesser rolling moment for unit aileron deflection.
b) The other reason would be that of Adverse Yaw. In the scenario where the plane is
to be given a positive roll, if both the ailerons are deflected by the same
magnitude, the aileron the left wing of the aircraft would create more lift due to
the downward deflection of the aileron, with the increase in this lift, the
induced drag also increases. This causes the right wing of the aircraft to move
faster and hence creating a yaw moment in the opposite direction of roll, in this
case the aircraft would yaw to the left. This is known as adverse yaw. During this
adverse yaw, the right wing, which is moving faster than the left wing starts to
generate lift again and hence the aircraft slowly starts to roll to the left. This can
cause the lowering of the

magnitude.

The solution to these problems are

a) Increase the distance between the ailerons, so that the torque increases per unit of
aileron deflection
b) Asymmetric deflection of ailerons could prevent the adverse yaw. That is, if the
right aileron is deflected by a certain angle upwards, the left aileron could be
deflected downwards but at an angle slightly lesser than the angle of the right
aileron. This would create a bit less lift on the left wing but it reduces the induced
drag drastically, and hence the adverse yaw too. Hence the right wing wouldnt
gain velocity and would stay as the bottom wing as the aircraft yaws to the right.

 The values were close to 0 till 24 AOA. After this angle the plane stalls , and

there is a sudden increase in magnitude to 0.1203/ rad. This increase is due to the flow
separation over the upper surface of the MAV. This decrease in pressure over the
upper surface, increases the lift on the side of the MAV where the aileron is deflected
downwards, creating a stronger rolling moment.

47


2) Coefficient of Pitching moment with respect to Elevator deflection(
):

The derivative,
,as explained earlier, defines the change in pitching moment caused

due to elevator deflection. It should preferably be negative. When there is a perturbation which
causes the AOA to increase, in other words, which can cause a pitch up moment, a negative
pitching moment is desirable so that the aircraft can return to its equilibrium position.

The value of the derivative was computed to be -0.2821/rad.

As we can see from the graph, when the control surfaces are deflected down, the
camber of the MAV increases and hence will have a more negative moment.
When the control surfaces are deflected upwards, there is loss in lift and the MAV will
make the camber more negative. Resulting in a more positive pitching moment.
The value of this derivative can be increased by increasing the distance between the
elevators and the centre of gravity.
The value can also be increased by increasing the surface area of the control surfaces.

48

49


Coefficient of Side Force with respect To Aileron Deflection (
):

The derivative,
, defines the change in side force due to aileron deflection. The value

of this derivative is usually zero or negligible.

The value of obtained was 0.1504/rad.

The value obtained was not zero or negligible, this high value was possibly obtained
because of the proximity of the control surfaces to the vertical tail.
When the control surfaces are close to the tail, it produces differential pressure about
the tail resulting in a side force.
This can be reduced and bought closer to zero by increasing the distance between the
control surfaces and the vertical tail.
The drastic increase in side force after 24 AOA is possibly due to the flow separation.

50

When the left aileron is deflected downwards and right aileron deflected upwards, the
turbulent flow coming into contact with the right aileron would produce more pressure
on the right side of the vertical tail, than over the downward deflected left aileron. This

51

leads to a positive side force, and the vice versa occurs when the right aileron is
deflected downwards.

Cros

s Control Derivatives:

and
are called Cross control derivatives as they signify the change in

moment that results from the deflection in the control surface that is not the primary control
surface for that axis. For example,

signifies change in yaw moment due to aileron

deflection, with rudder being the primary control surface for the yaw axis. Hence it defines
the yaw moment produced by a non-primary control surface. Since rudder isnt present in

the MAV. The derivative

was not calculated.

1) Coefficient of Yaw Moment with respect to Aileron deflection (

):

The
derivative gives us an idea if the aircraft will yaw away from the roll

direction or towards the roll direction. A positive

signifies a proverse yaw that is

the yaw moment produced in the aircraft due to the aileron deflection is in the direction
of the roll of the aircraft. A negative

, signifies a yaw moment being produced in

the direction opposite to the roll direction. This condition is known as adverse yaw.

 The value of for the 150 mm MAV was computed to be 0.2678/rad. That indicates

a proverse yaw condition, which is desirable.

The proverse yaw can only occur if the drag on the aileron deflected upward is more
that the induced drag acting on the other aileron, hence making the wing with aileron
deflected upwards move slower than the other wing. This leads to a yaw in the
direction of the roll.

Coefficient of Lift due to Elevator Deflection ( ):

The derivative usually has a positive but small value. This is usually

because of the size of the horizontal stabilizer is quite small compared to the wings
and hence an elevator deflection cant be expected to produce a lot of lift.

The value obtained during experimentation was, 0.7398 /rad.

The high value is possibly because it is a flying wing model and when the elevators
are deflected downwards, the whole body of the MAV becomes more cambered
hence producing more lift

As we can see the trend of the graph remains same but only the magnitude
increases with the AOA. This shows that as we increase the AOA, the amount by

which C L changes with respect to elevator deflection is the same but the value of CL
increases.
Hence the downward deflection of the elevators not only produces a negative
pitching moment but also increases the coefficient of Lift.

55

4.5) STUDY OF DYNAMIC DEFLECTION OF CONTROL SURFACE

The Dynamic deflection of control surfaces was carried out to study how the lift,
drag and moment varies with time at different rates of deflection. It provides the flyer a very
clear idea of how the vehicle behaves and how much moment and lift the vehicle experiences
at a particular instant. This information would be very important for an autonomous flight
development, as the controller would know for at what rate of control surface deflection, how
much the lift or moment would vary.

Variation of Lift with time for different Control Surface Deflection Rates:

As told before, each of these graphs start with their control surface
deflected downwards.
From the graph we can infer the speeds that at servo 10, the control surfaces
deflected at a rate of 45/sec, Servo 15 at 30/sec and at Servo 30 the deflection rate is
15/sec.
The maximum lift obtained in a cycle of deflection is 110 N and the minimum lift of
-50 N.
56

 Hence on deflecting the control surface from +22.5 to -22.5, the MAV loses 160 N
of Lift.
At 45/sec deflection, that is a loss of 160 g/sec. At 30/sec it loses about 128 g/sec
and at 15/sec, it loses about 58.13 g/sec.
It gains the same amount of lift when it is deflected from -22.5 to +22.5.

Variation of Coefficient of Moment with time:

The Coefficient of moment variation has also been captured for the same
time periods and speeds.

The variation of Cm can be clearly understood from the graph. The Coefficient of
Moment becomes positive as the control surface deflects form +22.5 to -22.5.
The max Cm reached was 1.5 and the minimum was -0.5.
We can conclude from the graph that irrespective of the rate of deflection the
magnitude of pitch up moment and pitch down moment doesnt change.
And we can also see that by increasing the angle of attack, the moment becomes
more negative.
As discussed before, this is a desirable condition to maintain longitudinal
static stability.

Variation of Lift with time for different Control Surface Deflection Rates:
The maximum drag experienced is 42 grams and the minimum drag is about 15 grams.

 The instantaneous drag acting isnt that relevant because this opposing force is
almost of constant magnitude and doesnt affect the flight path and flight operations.

CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE OF WORK

The objectives set for the experiment have been completed successfully. All the
important Static control derivatives have been obtained experimentally through wind tunnel
testing. The effect on aerodynamic characteristics of the MAV due to dynamic deflection of
control surfaces and side slip angle were studied. The result and value of each control
derivative
and the criterion for static stability is shown in the table below.

Stability Derivatives

Criterion for stability

Experimental Values
Obtained

>0

2.197

>0

0.6864

<0 (for static stability)

-0.4480

<0

-0.488

<0 (for static stability)

-1.2798

>0 (for static stability)

0.2678

>0

0.0099

<0

-0.2821

0.2406

>0 (proverse yaw)

0.0658

>0

0.7398

Table 5.1: Static Stability Derivative Table

Hence from the obtained values it is clear that the MAV tested is statically stable. A
few ideas for improvement in stability derivatives and to study different orientations of the
body can be experimented with, the suggestions given below.

The effect of bank angle on the aerodynamics of MAV can be experimentally done
and observed in the future.

 To improve the directional stability, effect of different types vertical tail configuration
can be studied, that is the aspect ratio of the vertical tail can be increased for the same
surface area, and since this will shift the aerodynamic centre as it move away from the
CG as well as the X-axis. This would increase the magnitude of the side slip
derivatives. The opposite can be done to decrease the sideslip derivatives.
Since the aircraft is found to be statically stable, dynamic testing can be done to
check the dynamic stability of the MAV.
The control surface size can be increased to increase the roll stability and longitudinal
stability.
A slight dihedral can be given for the same vertical tail model, to improve roll stability.

If not a twin tail configuration, a larger single tail would improve the lateral
directional stability slightly.

The lateral directional stability can also be improved by increasing the distance
between the CG and AC of the vertical tail. Increasing this distance will also improve
the negative pitching moment a bit more.

REFERENCES
[1] Brian Roberts,Rick Lind,Judson Babcock,Matthew Marino and Simon Watkins,Effects
of Wing Design on Aerodynamics of MAVs in Turbulent Flow,AIAA Atmospheric Flight
Mechanics Conference,Toronto,Ontario,Canda, August 2010.
[2] Arjun H. Rao,Daniel V. Uhligy, and Michael S. Selig, Glide and Powered Flight
Characteristics of Micro Air Vehicles from Experimental Measurements, 30th

AIAA

Applied Aerodynamics Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 2012, 2012-2768

[3] R. Albertani, P. Hubner, P. Ifju, R. Lind, J. Jackowski,.Experimental Aerodynamics of

Micro Air Vehicles,. submitted to SAE World Aviation Conference,Reno, Nevada, November
2004.
[4] J.H. Blakelock, .Automatic Control of Aircraft and Missiles,. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
[5] M. Drela, .Higher-Order Boundary Layer Formulation and Application to Low Reynold
Number Flows,. in Fixed and Flapping Wing Aerodynamics for Micro Air Vehicle
Applications, edited by T.J. Mueller, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Reston
[6] T.J. Mueller, . Aerodynamic Measurements at Low Reynolds Numbers for Fixed Wings
MAVs, RTO/VKI Special Course, VKI, Belgium 1999.
[7] C.R. Nelson, .Flight Stability and Automatic Control,. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1998.
[8] G.E. Torres and T.J. Mueller, .Aerodynamic Characteristics of Low Aspect Ratio Wings
at Low Reynolds Numbers,. in Fixed and Flapping Wing Aerodynamics for Micro Air
Vehicle Applications, edited by T.J. Mueller, American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics,Reston VA, 2001.
[9] D. Viieru, Y. Lian, W. Shyy and P. Ifju, .Investigation of Tip Vortex on Aerodynamic
Performance of a Micro Air Vehicle,. AIAA-2003-3597, June 2003.

[10] M.R. Waszak, L.N. Jenkins and P. Ifju, .Stability and Control Properties of an
Aeroelastic FixedWing Micro Aerial Vehicle,. AIAA-2001-4005.
[11] Joel M. Grasmeyer and Matthew T. Keennon, "Development of the Black Widow Micro
in Proceedings of the 39th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, M. T. Keennon,
Ed., American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2000.
[12] B. H. Carmichael, "Low Reynols number Airfoil Survey - Volume I", NASA Contractor
Report 165803, Final Report (Low Energy Transport Systems), 106 P HC A06 / MF A01,
January 1982.
[13] Thomas J. Mueller and Gabriel Torres, "Aerodynamics of Low Aspect Ratio Wings at
Low Reynolds Numbers With Applications to Micro Air Vehicle Design and Optimization",
Contract Report N00173-98-C-2025, November 2001.
[14] Michael R. Reid and Dr. Jeffrey Kozak, "Thin /Cambered / Reflexed Airfoil
Development for Micro Air Vehicle Applications at Reynolds numbers of 60,000 to 100,000",
AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference and Exhibit, 21-24 August 2006,
Keystone,Colorado.
[15] Lance W. Traub, "Range and Endurance Estimates for Battery-Powered Aircraft",
Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 48, No. 2, March - April 2011.
[16] Hemant Sharma, V. Murari, G. Ramesh, "Preliminary Design of 150 mm Micro Air
Vehicle", NAL PD MV 1207, November 2012.
[17] Hemant Sharma, V. Murari, C. S. Suraj, Sajeer Ahmed, Dinil Divakaran, Gurjeet Singh,
G. Ramesh, "Design Calculations and Comparative Performance Evaluations of Various
Configurations for 150 mm Fixed Wing MAVs", NAL PD MV 1208, November 2012.
Reference / Hand Books
[1] Jan Roskam, FLIGHT DYNAMICS AND AUTOMATIC FLIGHT CONTROLS,
DARcorporation, 2001.

PROJECT DETAILS
Student Details
Student Name

Tejas Alva

Register Number

110933070

Section / Roll No A/27

Email Address

tejas.alva1993@gmail.com

Phone No (M)

8971215356

Project Details
Project Title

Experimental Aerodynamic Characterization of 150mm FixedWing MAV And Analysis Of Stability Derivatives Of The Vehicle.

Project Duration

4 months

Date of reporting

5th Febrauary 2015

Expected date of
completion of

30th May 2015

project
Organization Details
Organization Name

National Aerospace Laboratories(NAL)

Full postal address

MAV Unit, NAL,Wind Tunnel Road,Bangalore-560017

with pin code

Website address

www.nal.res.in

Supervisor Details
Supervisor Name

Dr. Parag Deshpande

Designation

Fellow Scientist

Full contact address

MAV Unit, NAL,Wind Tunnel Road,Bangalore-560017

with pin code

Email address

p_j_despande@yahoo.com

Phone No (M)

8884808821

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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project entitled EXPERIMENTAL AERODYNAMIC
CHARACTERIZATION OF 150mm FIXED WING MAV AND ANALYSIS OF
STABILITY DERIVATIVES OF THE VEHICLE submitted for the partial fulfilment of
my B. Tech Degree is my original work and the project has not formed the basis for the award
of any degree, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar titles.

Signature of the Student:

Place:
Date:

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